Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Opinion - Guest Columnists

Opinion: The next county mayor must protect pre-K

kandace@first8memphis.org (Kandace Thomas) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:39:17 -0500

“The youngest members of this community did not ask to be born into a budget dispute. They arrived, as all children do, with the expectation that the adults around them would provide what they need to thrive.”

Opinion: DA Mulroy on criminal justice data and accountability

editor@dailymemphian.com (Steve Mulroy) — Thu, 9 Apr 2026 13:54:09 -0500

“Delays in handling cases, jail-intake processing delays, the “solve rate” for crimes, the repeat-offender rate — these are all worthy objects of emphasis ... . But they may not fit the right (so to speak) political agenda.”

Opinion: Memphis must demand more from industrial polluters

editor@dailymemphian.com (LaTricea Adams) — Fri, 3 Apr 2026 15:35:11 -0500

“If a company’s business model depends on the exploitation of a Black city and the enrichment of a few power brokers at the top, we don’t want them here.”

Opinion: Data raises questions about accountability in the criminal justice system

editor@dailymemphian.com (Leslie Taylor) — Wed, 1 Apr 2026 12:39:06 -0500

The performance of the criminal justice system can’t be assessed without knowing the full picture. We have regular and reliable reporting from law enforcement agencies, but why don’t we have the same expectation for the district attorney and court clerks?

Opinion: 'Justice, safety, solidarity, law and order — in Memphis, they have to be the same project'

editor@dailymemphian.com (Christian Man) — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 15:46:38 -0500

“Amid the frustrating recruitment challenges facing the Memphis Police Department, I would like to turn our attention to a different critical element of our public safety architecture: the frontline civic organizations engaged in violence-reduction efforts.”

Outgoing FedEx St. Jude Championship leader: 'To the city of Memphis — thank you'

editor@dailymemphian.com (Joe Tomek) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 04:00:02 -0500

Before FESJC’s outgoing Executive Director Joe Tomek leaves for Australia, he has some advice for Memphians.

Guest Column: Remembering a legacy of courage, perseverance and love

editor@dailymemphian.com (Michele Phillips) — Sat, 7 Mar 2026 04:00:06 -0600

“We can take inspiration and hope from Lynda Lowery’s example. Every day, we see young people realize they have a voice and start to use it. As adults, we should be called to do the same.”

Opinion: Displaying the Ten Commandments in schools is a monumental error

editor@dailymemphian.com (Joseph Ryan Kelly) — Fri, 6 Mar 2026 04:00:09 -0600

“Someone will be forced to decide which biblical version to display and how to number the commandments. Any such choice would privilege one religious tradition over others.”

Opinion: Senator Hagerty on 'Making Memphis the safest city in America'

editor@dailymemphian.com (Bill Hagerty) — Thu, 5 Mar 2026 15:59:17 -0600

“One of the great gifts of public service is the ability to make an outsized difference for your fellow citizens. I would never have imagined earlier in my life I could help make Memphis safe and marketable.”

Opinion: Add library workers to the civil service without unnecessary steps

wayne.dowdy@memphistn.gov (G. Wayne Dowdy) — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:20:50 -0600

“I hope that the citizens of Memphis will vote for the referendum granting civil service protection to library workers, and that library employees be re-hired for jobs they secured through a fair and competitive process.”

Opinion: In a college search, the student is the constant

bbrooks@stmarysschool.org (Beverly Brooks ) — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:15:29 -0600

“Where your child goes to college will never be as important as what they do when they get there. Let your students take charge, take risks and know that they’re going to be OK. You are, too.”

Guest Column: Memphis is well placed for the next wave of growth

editor@dailymemphian.com (Chris Grayson) — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 04:00:01 -0600

“Rebuilding the electrical grid will be a central American industrial challenge. Memphis has a rare opportunity to be more than a pass-through point in that effort — it can become a place where the grid is built.”

Opinion: Why immigration enforcement is not the same struggle as the Civil Rights Movement

erica.a.middleton@gmail.com (Erica May) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:26:46 -0600

“Supporting local charities and advocating for legislative reform are reasonable paths forward; interfering with active law enforcement is not.”

Opinion: Memphis, are you still thinking about the Roman Empire (and Yellow Fever)?

editor@dailymemphian.com (Amanda Gaggioli ) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:27:33 -0600

“Historian Kyle Harper is coming to the University of Memphis to ask a chilling question: are we, like the Romans, on the cusp of societal collapse — or even mass extinction?”

Opinion: A simple blood test can help save more Tennesseans from colorectal cancer

editor@dailymemphian.com (Leighanne Soden) — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 04:00:08 -0600

“The impact of colorectal cancer is exacerbated for Black Tennesseans and people in rural areas who face even more challenges to getting screened and treated.”

Opinion: When school transportation fails, learning may not happen at all

editor@dailymemphian.com (Pedro Velasquez-Rodriguez) — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 04:00:05 -0600

“For about 26,000 Memphis students, access to school transportation is the difference between showing up ready to learn and not showing up at all.”

Opinion: The failure to fund pre-K hurts children and families

editor@dailymemphian.com (James "Bo" Griffin) — Tue, 3 Feb 2026 13:31:59 -0600

“We ask the Shelby County administration to find a path forward with First 8 Memphis so that our school system and all other operators are not expected to fill a sudden budgetary gap that we cannot afford.”

Echols: 'This has not been my best week'

candaceecholswrites@gmail.com (Candace Echols) — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:00:09 -0600

“Their blood runs through my veins, and many of them walked in the light of grace the same way I am doing this week, just earlier on the timeline. God loved them, and he loves me, too.”

Opinion: Germantown citizens deserve clear answers about the push for a full-time mayor

editor@dailymemphian.com (Patrick Lawton) — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 04:00:01 -0600

“When the City of Germantown proposes sweeping and permanent changes to our system of governance — such as this charter amendment — transparency is not optional, it is essential. But this is where city leadership has fallen short.”

Opinion: The controversy around xAI is far more than environmental — it’s moral

editor@dailymemphian.com (Stephen Hackett) — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 04:00:01 -0600

“If we can’t boldly say the ability to create nonconsensual sexual imagery and child sexual-abuse material need to be fully and permanently irradiated from xAI’s products, we are truly lost.”